Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Stephens

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) was upgraded by research analysts at Stephens to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on CRM. DA Davidson cut their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $362.74.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $279.44 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $268.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.96, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. Salesforce has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $315.19 and its 200 day moving average is $309.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 16,487 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.68, for a total transaction of $5,616,791.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $566,210.16. This trade represents a 90.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 75,609 shares of company stock worth $24,920,821 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 926.4% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,422,979,000 after acquiring an additional 3,841,521 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,173,564,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,604,770,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325,156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,752,830,000 after buying an additional 1,736,667 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Company Profile

Salesforce, Inc provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and artificial intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer support at scale.